Just off Rodeo Drive, in the heart of Beverly Hills last night, Rolls-Royce held an exclusive opening for a new dealership featuring the world’s first “Black Badge Lounge.” The Great Gatsby-themed soiree within a tastefully updated studio featured live music, flapper dancers, champagne towers, and Dalmore 17 scotch whisky cocktails, giving loyal customers and media a chance to experience the showroom floor, visit the speakeasy in the rear, and then venture upstairs to the “Black Badge Atelier” that offers a private escape for speccing highly personalized Rolls-Royce motorcars.
The crisp white walls with contrasting vertical bars so reminiscent of Rolls-Royce’s iconic front grilles perfectly mirrored a 1925 Phantom “Round Door” that the nearby Petersen Automotive Museum kindly contributed to the evening’s festivities. This first-generation Phantom received custom coachwork in 1934 from Jonckheere, in Belgium, and retrospectively represents the first iteration of the Black Badge ethos that Rolls-Royce brought to life officially in 2016.
Parked diagonally across the showroom floor, a Spectre Series II embodied the very opposite end of the spectrum, with a fully electric powertrain that proves exactly how well prodigious silent power matches the modern luxury experience – especially in Black Badge form.
“Black Badge has always been about a different side of Rolls-Royce,” Director of Sales & Brand Julian Jenkins told duPont REGISTRY. “One that is bolder, more contemporary, and a little unexpected. After ten years, it felt like the right moment to give that spirit a home of its own.”
The new Beverly Hills dealership will operate as part of the broader O’Gara Coachgroup, at the heart of Los Angeleno car culture with showrooms full of McLaren, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Pininfarina, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Rimac nearby. Tom O’Gara himself greeted customers and friends at the opening, before handing the microphone over to a jazz ensemble. As the music played, guests circled through the Black Badge Lounge to an outdoor area where a team of torcedores hand-rolled cigars.
Upstairs in the Atelier, out of sight from the main floor and bar, a private experience for speccing and customizing Rolls-Royces hinted at the nearly countless options available for sumptuous leathers, plush high-pile carpets, contrast stitching threads, and more – all rendered digitally in real time on a large screen to complete the immersive experience.
“The Atelier lets people step into the Black Badge world, more than just seeing it in a motorcar,” Jenkins continued. “It doesn’t feel like a conventional showroom, it’s a more relaxed, considered environment in which clients may spend time, explore ideas, and begin to imagine something entirely their own. Of course, we are consistently seeing ever greater interest in personalization and one-off creations, and the Atelier offers a more engaging and inspiring way for clients to begin that commissioning journey.”
The new dealership drew a healthy showing from across the broader Los Angeles cityscape, especially the next generation of luxury consumers emerging out of the tech industry, social media, and creative fields. As the initial introduction for new customers, or reestablishing a familiar foundation for existing owners, the world’s first Black Badge Lounge aims to create a level of direct engagement that sets the proper tone for ownership of the world’s finest motorcars.
IMAGES COURTESY OF ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS & MICHAEL ROACH
